Quantitative assessment of plate tectonic models

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016209544-A1
Application number	US-201514632677-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 26, 2015
Priority date	Jan 15, 2015
Publication date	Jul 21, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method for quantitatively evaluating multiple computer-based plate tectonic models for application in a geographic region of interest, in some embodiments, comprises: selecting a plurality of computer-based plate tectonic models; using multiple computer-based plate tectonic models to generate one or more predictions for one or more geological parameters;
obtaining observational data for each of said one or more geological parameters; for each of said one or more geological parameters, quantitatively comparing the predictions and the observational data to determine model rankings; and displaying said model rankings on a computer display.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for quantitatively evaluating multiple computer-based plate tectonic models for application in a geographic region of interest, comprising:
selecting a plurality of computer-based plate tectonic models; using said multiple computer-based plate tectonic models to generate one or more predictions for one or more geological parameters; obtaining observational data for each of said one or more geological parameters; for each of said one or more geological parameters, quantitatively comparing the predictions and the observational data to determine model rankings; and displaying said model rankings on a computer display.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining an overall ranking of the models based on the model rankings and displaying the overall rankings on the computer display.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein determining the overall ranking comprises determining averages of the model rankings.

4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein determining the overall ranking comprises associating a different weight with each of the geological parameters.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein quantitatively comparing the predictions and the observational data comprises using a least squares regression technique.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the one or more geological parameters comprises fracture zones, the predictions include flow lines representing a particular fracture zone, the observational data includes a manually digitized representation of the particular fracture zone, and said quantitative comparison comprises comparing the flow lines to the manually digitized representation of the particular fracture zone.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein said quantitative comparison comprises determining an error associated with each of the flow lines and using said errors to determine the model rankings.

8 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising decimating the flow lines prior to said comparison based on either latitude data points used to form the flow lines, longitude data points used to form the flow lines, or a combination thereof.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the one or more geological parameters comprises hot spots, the predictions include predicted hot spot tracks, the observational data includes an actual hot spot track, and said quantitative comparison comprises comparing the predicted and actual hot spot tracks.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the one or more geological parameters comprises crustal thickness, the predictions include average crustal thicknesses of a pre-rift area calculated using simulated repositioning of a continental crust toward a rift, the observational data includes an average present-day thickness of the continental crust, and said quantitative comparison comprises comparing the average crustal thicknesses of the pre-rift area to the average present-day thickness of the continental crust.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the one or more geological parameters comprises continental deformation, the predictions include predicted deformations on a continent, said predicted deformations identified by superimposing shapes upon a representation of the continent, the observational data includes an actual deformation on said continent, and said quantitative comparison comprises comparing the predicted and actual deformations.

12 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising modeling a paleogeography of the representation of the continent after superimposing said shapes upon the representation of the continent.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising identifying a deformation in one or more of said shapes after modeling the paleogeography and comparing said deformation to observational intracratonal deformation data.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the one or more geological parameters includes paleolatitudes, the predictions include predicted latitudinal movements of a geological feature, the observational data includes actual latitudinal movement of the geological feature obtained using paleomagnetic properties associated with said geological feature, and said quantitative comparison comprises comparing the predicted and actual latitudinal movements of the geological feature.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein said geological feature comprises a plate and wherein said paleomagnetic properties are determined using a rock associated with said plate.

16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the one or more geological parameters includes rift age, the predictions include predicted ages of a rift, the observational data includes actual age of the rift, and said quantitative comparison comprises comparing the predicted and actual ages of the rift.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising determining the predicted ages of the rift by calculating differences between velocity vectors of plates associated with said rift.

18 . A computer-readable storage medium comprising software code which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to:
generate predictions for a plurality of geological parameters, each of said predictions generated using a different plate tectonic model; determine quantitative data associated with said predictions; obtain quantitative observational data for each of said plurality of geological parameters; compare the quantitative data associated with said predictions to the quantitative observational data; use said comparisons to determine a plate tectonic model ranking for each of the plurality of geological parameters; average the plate tectonic model rankings across all of the plurality of geological parameters to identify an overall ranking of the plate tectonic models; identify a best fit plate tectonic model based on the overall ranking; and display the best fit plate tectonic model on a computer display.

19 . The storage medium of claim 18 , wherein the processor performs said comparison using a least squares regression technique.

20 . The storage medium of claim 18 , wherein the processor determines said plate tectonic model ranking for each of the plurality of geological parameters by applying weights to said plurality of geological parameters.

21 . A method for selecting one of a plurality of plate tectonic models to assess a geographic region, comprising:
identifying a geographic region of the Earth; identifying a plurality of plate tectonic models that contain information pertaining to said geographic region; generating geological predictions for said geographic region based on the plurality of plate tectonic models; quantitatively comparing the geological predictions to observational data pertaining to said geographic region; ranking the plurality of plate tectonic models based on said comparisons; displaying the ranking on a display; receiving input selecting one of the plurality of plate tectonic models based on the ranking; and using the selected plate tectonic model to assess said geographic region of the Earth.

Assignees

• Minguez Daniel A
• Laroche Thomas Matthew
• Thomas Keith R
• Morgan Alan
• Edwards Johnson Elizabeth Anna
• Chevron Usa Inc

Inventors

• Minguez Daniel A
• Laroche Thomas Matthew
• Thomas Keith R
• Morgan Alan
• Edwards Johnson Elizabeth Anna

Classifications

• G01V99/005 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic

• G01V11/00

  Prospecting or detecting by methods combining techniques covered by two or more of main groups G01V1/00 - G01V9/00 · CPC title

• G01V1/282

  Application of seismic models, synthetic seismograms · CPC title

• G01V20/00 Primary

  Geomodelling in general · CPC title